Triumphs over adversity enable Els to appreciate good times

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Els during practice at Muirfield yesterday as he prepares to defend his Open crownTimes photographer,Bradley Ormesher

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Els in a lighter moment with Ben, his son, at the Els for Autism Pro-am at West Palm Beach, in FloridaDavid Cannon/Getty Images

Last updated at 12:01AM, July 17 2013

Win at Lytham last year showed South African had emerged from a difficult time personally and professionally, John Hopkins writes

Ernie Els’s performance at Royal Lytham & St Annes a year ago was
exceptional. Winning a fourth major championship 18 years after his first
put him tied for third in longevity in the game after Jack Nicklaus
(1962-1986), Gary Player (1959-1978) and equal with Harry Vardon
(1896-1914).

Els, who has won major championships in three decades and was 42 when he won
his latest, deserves huge respect for these accomplishments, but they are
not his most impressive.

He saved those for a tumultuous decade that began soon after he had won the
Open at Muirfield in 2002, and ended last